Just a Kiss
by MinervaDeannaBond
Summary: Seth and Jessica both have something burning on their minds, but to get it out, they take a wild ride into the night through Cabot Cove. Will they share that long-awaited kiss? Cabot Cove Summer #7.


I know y'all have been waiting for the next entry in the Cabot Cove Summer Series, so... here, lucky number 7 in the line, is Jessica and Seth's first date (and first kiss).

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><p>The sky was painted with bright stripes of gold and pink later on that day, and Jessica, for the first time in all the years she had known him, was impatient for Seth's arrival. She tried to calm herself and focus on the beauty of the sunset, but nothing could quell the anticipation quivering in her stomach. Not even sitting down at her typewriter and freewriting. It was almost ridiculous, on the brink of schoolgirl behavior, but Jessica reminded herself that it had been years since she'd experienced these feelings. Frank had always brought out the romantic in her, and no man had ever managed to rouse those deeply buried emotions after his death... at least, not until now. <em>Keep calm, Jessica, <em>she told herself. _This is Seth, for heaven's sake. _

_And there's the problem, _a little voice said in her mind. _You're admitting your feelings to the one person who can read you like a book in every single aspect except one. And now you're finally going to let him read that unpublished chapter. No wonder you're a quivering bundle of nerves._

No wonder, indeed. Anticipation was coursing through her body at such a rapid speed that she was restless, pacing her bedroom, picking objects up and setting them back down, checking her appearance in her vanity mirror so many times that anyone peeking in would have thought her completely vain. Even now, Jessica was glancing at her reflection, wondering if she was too overdressed for a ride through Cabot Cove. She was wearing a lightweight, peach-colored summer dress with matching sandals and a white cardigan; silver seashell earrings ornamented her earlobes and a matching necklace draped her neck. Her hair was shining and styled, and she'd taken great care in applying her makeup so that it looked natural rather than smoky or overly glamorous. _Relax. You look fine, _her voice of common sense assured her.

_Then why do I feel like jumping out of my skin? _Jessica thought as she drummed her fingers on the vanity table. As she looked down at her hands, she took notice of her wedding band. The sight of it seemed to still her fingers, and she raised her left hand before her face, her eyes roving over the white gold ring. She had worn it ever since Frank slipped it on her finger on their wedding day, and since his death, she had not taken it off, believing in her heart for years that if she did, she would be breaking the vows she'd taken. But now that Frank had told her not to be afraid of loving Seth, she knew that there was no reason for her to be afraid anymore. She turned her hand one way, then the other, staring at the silvery band. Finally, she took a deep breath and slid the ring off her finger, giving it a parting kiss before placing it safely inside her jewelry box. When it was done, she stared at her empty ring finger. She'd worn her wedding ring for so long, the third finger of her left hand didn't even look like her own.

_I love you, Jessie._

_I love you, too. Always._

Jessica smiled as the dream came back to her. Frank would always be with her, even if she was no longer wearing his ring. She had his blessing, and knowing that was enough to calm her down as she waited for Seth. And sure enough, there was his car pulling up to the curb. Her heart giving a bound, Jessica checked herself in the mirror one last time and, grabbing her purse, made her way downstairs. Her timing turned out to be perfect, for by the time she got downstairs, he was knocking at the door. _This is it. _She inhaled deeply and opened the door, unable to keep from smiling when she saw him standing on the threshold. "Hi!"

"Hi," he echoed, his own face breaking into a smile when he saw her. "Don't you look beautiful."

Having wondered for quite a while if her outfit was too much, Jessica was pleased to hear him give her such a nice compliment. Heaven knew, if she was overdressed, Seth would have told her. He was always brutally honest with her about everything, including the clothes she wore. After all, he had been forthright with her only yesterday, when they went to pick out her bathing suit and flip-flops. There was nothing but honesty in the compliment he'd just given her, although this time, it was suffused with delight rather than irony. "Well, thank you," she said, smoothing out the skirt of her dress. "I'd hoped I wasn't overdressed for a ride through town." _But not underdressed for a date._

"Pshaw. You look pretty as a peach in that dress."

Jessica rolled her eyes, yet nevertheless felt a flush steal through her cheeks. "Oh, come on." She looked him up and down. "You look nice yourself."

This was almost an understatement. Seth, ever the picture of the country doctor, always dressed in a clean shirt, casual pants and jacket, and a bow tie. Tonight, he was wearing a new navy-blue jacket and pants, crimson bow tie, and snow-white shirt. _I guess I'm not the only one who considers this a date, _Jessica thought, taking in his ensemble with appreciation... and noticing that one of his hands was tucked behind his back. "Are you hiding something or is your hand shy all of a sudden?"

"Ayuh, that's it. Ol' Righty there took one look at your pretty face and hid." Seth's mouth stretched into a grin when Jessica laughed. "No, I've got a surprise for you," he said, bringing his right hand into sight. In it, he held a single yellow rose, golden petals in full bloom atop a thick green stem.

"Oh, Seth, it's beautiful!" Jessica accepted the rose from him and held it to her nose, inhaling the delicate, lovely fragrance she adored. "And you even took the time to cut the thorns off."

"Well, I didn't want you getting pricked. I don't need a Sleeping Beauty scenario on my hands tonight."

"That was the spindle of a spinning wheel, and you know it."

"Same difference. Either way, I don't want you bleeding. That blood of yours is too precious to shed."

Jessica narrowed her eyes at him and grinned. "You really know the right words to accompany a gift." She kissed his cheek. "I love it, Seth, and I appreciate you thinking of me."

Seth shuffled a little uncomfortably. "It hasn't been hard. I've done nothing _but _think about you since last night, wondering if you were okay."

Jessica's heart sank as she saw the pain in his eyes and heard the tone of his voice. He blamed himself for making her cry, and he believed that he had hurt her feelings when he hadn't done either one. "Seth, I'm fine. I had a lot of time to think last night and a lot of things to think about." She put gentle hands on his shoulders when questions appeared in his eyes. "Let's not talk about it right now. Let's just go get some ice cream, take a drive, and enjoy ourselves. I think we deserve to be happy."

Seth raised an eyebrow, as though wondering whether or not that last declaration had a double meaning. He wasn't sure, but Jessica was. She had meant it exactly the way Seth was thinking. "Ayuh, you're right. We had us a little slice of _The Young and the Restless _last night, so let's have some Gable and Harlow tonight."

The smile returned to Jessica's face. His statement recalled a memory from just a few years ago, when the two of them participated in an archaeological dig together. Jessica had been forthright in expressing her feelings about Karen Parks and Steve Gamble, that their fights were simply a cover-up for true love. Seth, in return, had told her that she had seen one too many Gable-Harlow movies. After the dig was over, though, he had surprised her by inviting her to watch a few of those Gable-Harlow movies when they returned to Cabot Cove. She'd told him that he was an old romantic, teasing him at the time. How wonderful now that it turned out she was right. "You're an old softy, Seth Hazlitt."

The corners of Seth's eyes crinkled. "Come here." He took the rose from her hand, broke the stem in half, and tucked the bloom safely among the golden waves of her hair. "You're pretty soft yourself," he said, threading the silky locks through his fingers and trailing the index along her cheekbone. "Soft like a peach." His finger lingered on her cheek and they held each other's gazes, smiling until Seth cleared his throat. "Well... that ice cream won't be waiting for us forever."

"Nor will the stars." Jessica followed him out to the car and they were off, into the sunset and into the unknown of a brand-new relationship on the brink of beginning.

* * *

><p>"Whoo-hoo!" Jessica screamed with laughter as Seth flew down the back roads of Cabot Cove. He sped along the roads now and then, but never before had he floored the accelerator and given his car a Mario Andretti injection. Tonight, though, was a special occasion. He wanted to set the mood for an event that had almost taken place the previous night, albeit under unhappier circumstances. Rarely did he feel nervous about anything, but butterflies had taken up residence inside his stomach and were fluttering to beat the band. <em>This is it. Tonight's the night. I'm finally gonna kiss her. I'm gonna tell her how much I love her. <em>Little did he know that in the passenger seat, the same exact thoughts were running marathons through Jessica's head. Her own butterflies were tickling the inside of her belly, but this time, it was a good kind of tickling. The sheer adrenaline of the joyride was pulsing through her veins, chasing away all fear and putting pure happiness in its place.

_Does Seth make you happy?_

_Very happy. _Seth had taken it easy driving through town, his explanation being that he didn't want Mort to slap him with a speeding ticket, and then they'd spent a funny time choosing their ice cream. Jessica ordered a scoop of peach for herself, prompting Seth to tease her ("peach for the peach"), and he had done a fair bit of complaining about how there were too many oddball flavors ("give me the good old days when all you had was vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, peppermint, and cookies and cream. None of this Chunky Monkey or Moose Tracks mess. I tell you, it's a sad day when ice cream goes trendy just like every dad-blamed thing else around here."). In the end, though, he chose two scoops of Dutch chocolate, satisfied when he swallowed his first taste of the rich treat. As soon as the ice cream was gone, though, they'd hopped back into the car, navigated safely out of town, and then Seth floored it.

Thankfully, nobody from the sheriff's office had set up a speed trap on the road, or the evening would have been a total bust. As it was, they had torn along the back roads until the sun finally went down, and now they were just pulling up to Cabot Point, where shone a million stars. Jessica smiled as they parked, getting a clear view of the dazzling night sky through the windshield. "Wow," she breathed, her eyes hungrily drinking in the twinkling, dancing stars. "I haven't seen this many stars in such a long time."

"You haven't been out to Cabot Point in a long time," Seth pointed out. "As much time as you spend in big cities with all those bright lights, I'm not surprised it's been a long time since you've seen a sky busting at the seams with stars."

Jessica had to admit that he was right. She hadn't seen a night sky this beautiful since Lord only knew when. "Well, I'm certainly seeing one now. Just look at all of those stars. You can practically snatch a handful out of the sky." She stretched out a hand and mimed the grabbing movement, grinning at Seth when he chuckled. "If only I could."

"Why? Would you wish on every one?"

"Seth, I have many, many wishes, but hanging one on every single star would take years."

"Would you wish for Frank?"

Jessica looked over at him. His hazel eyes were burning with the embers of all his unanswered questions. "Seth... wishes can come true, but there are some that just can't. No amount of wishing can bring the dead back to life. All we can do is pray that the pain will be healed. I'd wish for one more day with Frank, but... that's not the plan for my life."

"Jess..." Seth reached out and took her hand. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying I can't hold on to him forever. I thought I could, but so much has changed. All these years, I've been afraid to find anyone else, to fall in love again because it seemed like I would be breaking my vows to Frank. But he told me not to be afraid."

"_Frank _told you not to be afraid?" Seth asked, looking genuinely confused.

"He visited me in a dream. Call me crazy if you want, but - "

"No, I'm not calling you crazy. I've had a visit from Ruth a few times myself."

"Then you know what it's like. Did she tell you not to be afraid to love again?" When Seth nodded, Jessica let out a relieved laugh. "Oh, my... I have the feeling that our spouses were conspiring together in heaven all this time. That's exactly what Frank said to me. He told me not to be afraid to love again... to love _you._"

If every single star in the sky suddenly fell on top of them at that very moment, Seth could not have looked more astonished. As a matter of fact, he looked ready to pass out. "What?" he asked breathlessly, as though he wasn't sure whether or not he heard Jessica correctly.

Jessica felt the beginnings of a lump forming in her throat, but she swallowed it. _Don't cry, Jessica. Be strong and tell him. _"Frank told me that just before he died, he told you to take care of me. Am I right?" Seth nodded and she continued on. "Well, he meant it in more than just protecting me. He said he always hoped that we would end up together." She bit back a laugh at the droll, flabbergasted expression on his face. "I know, I know. He wants me to be happy. And Seth..." She squeezed his hand and smiled. "You've made me happier than I thought I could ever be again after Frank died."

A small smile finally crossed the doctor's face. "Well, I guess I can say the same thing to you. You brought me back to life after Ruth passed on. Made me laugh again. Gave me a reason to believe in humanity, hopeless optimist that you are."

She laughed. "There's no sense in believing that everything's going to just fall to pieces. The world would be much better off if everyone learned to have a little faith."

"And help the medicine go down with that spoonful of sugar, Mary Poppins?"

Jessica gave his arm a smack. "You ought to be glad I'm sunshine and not thunderclouds."

"Believe me, I am. You're sunshine for sure. I swear you've got it in here," Seth said, sinking a hand into Jessica's thick blonde curls.

"Oh, _please_, Seth," Jessica said, rolling her eyes. "I am not Princess Aurora."

"I know that, but you've still got beautiful hair. So soft," he murmured, combing his fingers through strands of gold until he reached the nape of her neck. "_You're _soft." His hand caressed the back of her neck and then both hands clasped her shoulders, massaging them in gentle circles.

"Ooh..." Jessica sighed in delight, closing her eyes as he hit the right spot. "Oh, that's wonderful." She turned around in the passenger seat to give him better access, her entire body relaxing as he kneaded her muscles. "Oh, Seth, you have great hands..."

The compliment tickled Seth and he increased the pressure on her shoulders ever so slightly. "Well, I am a doctor, after all."

"I think you missed your calling. You could've made a terrific living as a chiropractor."

"And I'd have you in the office every day. Your muscles are more knotted up than Miss Marple's yarn."

"Stress. Ooh... ooh, that feels so good..."

Seth rubbed the last bit of stress out of her shoulders and let his hands rest on them. "Do I make you feel good, Jess?"

Jessica turned back around to face him, her blue eyes sparkling like the stars within their reach. "You make me _feel_," she said, laying a hand against his cheek. "And you're soft, too." Her slender fingers traced the contours of his face: cheekbones, jawline, lingering on his lips. Her eyes then flickered back up to his, and even in the beam cast by nearby Cabot Point Lighthouse and the twinkling starlight, she could still see the flecks of gold and emerald that made up the hazel of his eyes. "I've never told you this, but you have lovely eyes, Seth."

The corners of said eyes crinkled in a smile. "Not half as beautiful as yours... Sapphire Eyes," he said, one finger reaching up to trace the smile lines blooming from the corner of her left eye. "You've lived a happy life, Jessica Beatrice."

"That I have. I can't think of one moment when I haven't been loved, not by God, my family, my friends, Frank... or you. I've been incredibly blessed to have been loved so much, and to love in return. But there's one person in my life whom I haven't loved in return... at least, not in the way he loves me." Jessica reached up to take the hand cradling her face, her stomach giving just one little quiver as the words perched on her tongue. "I love you, Seth."

Silence. Neither one of them said a word. And then Jessica witnessed a sight she never in her life thought she would see. A single silvery tear trickled out of one of Seth's eyes and left a glistening trail down his cheek. Seth Hazlitt, Cabot Cove's irascible physician, was crying. "Seth, you're crying," she said, reaching out to catch his tear before it fell.

Seth nodded and hastily wiped his eyes. "I know, dad-gum it. And I'm not even ashamed to admit it. I'm just happy. I've been waiting for the better part of six years to tell you how I feel about you, and then you go and snipe me by saying it first." He threw up his hands. "Ah, what the heck. I may gripe about losing a chess game to you now and then, but I don't mind coming in second now, as long as I get to say it, too. Matter of fact, I'm gonna say it _and _shout it."

Jessica half-laughed, half-gasped at the very idea. "You are not!"

"Oh, I am too. I've kept this bottled up inside for so long, it deserves to come bubblin' out." Grinning ear to ear, he pulled her into his arms and squeezed her tight. "I love you, Jessica Fletcher." Before she could say anything, he opened the car door, got out, and shouted for all of Cabot Cove to hear, "I love you, Jessica Fletcher!"

Jessica had her face buried in her hands by the time he hopped back into the car, that monster grin still stretching his face. "Oh, Lord! Now the whole town's going to be talking by morning!"

"Aw, let 'em talk. They've been talking for years about us, how you and I need to get together. It's about time we gave 'em something to talk about."

"Lord knows, Eve will be thrilled. So will the usual crowd at Loretta's."

"And Mort, let's not forget about him. I think he's had suspicions of his own about us ever since he got here."

"Better suspicions of that sort than something else altogether." Jessica grinned at him. "So... now that we've both finally gotten our feelings out into the open, where do we go from here?"

"Well, Madame Fletcher... I fully intend to court you properly. As much as I love you, I don't want to rush this too much."

"I think that's a wise idea. We need to give people time to talk." Her eyes glittered. "We could hold hands while we're walking down the street, kiss in public without a care."

"Why wait? Let's get started." Seth took both of her hands in his and frowned suddenly, shifting his fingers to better examine her left hand. "Jess... when did you take your ring off?"

Jessica glanced at her bare ring finger. "Just before you came to pick me up. I figured it was time. That finger will stay empty until you decide to put a ring of your own on it."

"Oh, I fully intend to, when the time is right. For now, all I want to do is kiss you." He held his hands to his heart. "May I?"

Jessica smiled. "You don't even have to ask."

Seth's return grin lit up the universe. "Lord, Jess, I love you." Tenderly, he cradled her face in his hands and brought his lips to hers, first in a chaste peck, then in a deep, delicious kiss that filled his senses. And for one glorious moment, it didn't matter if all of Cabot Cove gossiped. It didn't matter if another murder was lurking just around the corner. All that mattered was a star-flung summer night, three precious words finally spoken after years of silence, and a kiss that turned a spark into a flame - a relationship that had only just begun, born out of a friendship that had always been.


End file.
